Loose-leaf binder.



I. WOLF.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. Isls.

Patented Feb.20,1917.

2f ffl 'locked in contact with one another.

ISAAC WOLF, OFIVIILVJALL, LONDON, ENGLAND.

Loosnltnnr BINDER.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented lleltn 20, i911 "i,

Application filed April 5, 1916. Serial-No. 89,025.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ISAAC WOLF, a subject of the King of GreatlBritain,residing at 30l- West Ferry road,-Milwall, vin the county of London,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in orRelating to Loose-Leaf Binders, ofI which the following is aspecification.

. This invention relates to improvements in loose leaf binders.

The object of the invention is to produce an improved construction ofloose leaf binder vin which the usual telescoping filing posts aredispensed with and in which simple and eiiicient means are provided forlocking the clamping bars in their closed position and unlocking thesame when desii-ed for the insertion or withdrawal of the loose leaves.

According to the present invention the back of the binder case isdivided longitudinally into two separable parts, said parts beingpreferably constituted by a pair of l.shaped metal clamping members,each clamping memberbeing attached to one of the covers of the binder.

rIhe short ends of the Lshaped members as distinguished from the endswhich carry the binder covers) constitute the back of the binder and areadapted to be normlly he locking means are preferably constituted bylocking lugs provided on one of the faces of the short ends of theIL-shaped members, which locking lugs when the binder is closed lit intoslots provided in the adjacent face of the other L-shaped member; aspring pressed sliding` bar being provided adapted to engage the lugsautomatically immediately they are pressed home into the said slots.

To unlock the clamping members, the sliding bar is adapted to be movedlaterally by means of a key so as to disengage the sliding bar from thelocking lugs. The clamping members can then be moved apart to a limitedextent. The filing posts are constituted by two or more bars locatedtransversely of the binder covers and adjacent to the back of thebinder. rI`he said filing posts and the clamping members are capable oflimited endwise movement relative to one another so as to allow theclamping members to be moved apart to a limited extent to permit of theinsertion or withdrawal of the loose leaves.

In practice I prefer to allow g when the clamping lbars are open betweeneach extremity of the filing post and the inner ends To prevent theendsof the filing posts n Ibeing withdrawn from the recesses, I mayprovide 'bosses or bolt heads on their extremities and close up theouter side of the recesses by means of closure plates which embrace thefiling posts and are secured by means of screws to the clamping members.If desired I may locate springs between the extremities of the filingposts and the base of the recesses, soas to cause the clamping bars tomove apart automatically immediately the locking device is actuated. Inorder notto produce any unnecessary thickening of the clamping bars, Iprefer, however, to dispense with such springs in connection with thefiling posts, and in cases where automatic separation of the clampingbars is desired, I employ in lieu thereof two or more strengtheningposts which may be located at any convenient part of the clampingmembers, but preferably toward the ends thereof. I prefer to employstrengthening posts of the type havingl one extremity attached to one ofthe inside faces of the clamping members, the other extremity beinglocated within a recess in the adjacent face of the other clampingmember. The extremity of each of the strengthening posts is free to movein an endwise direction within the said recess for a' distancecorresponding to the total endwise movement of the filing posts c. g.;one and a quarter inches. Within each ofthe said recesses I provide ahelical spring which bears on the extremity of each of the strengtheningposts and causes the clamping bars to move relatively to the said postsimmediately the clamping bars are released by the actuation of thelocking means.

Alternatively I may dispense with the use ofl springactuatedstrengthening posts and construct the various parts so that theseparation of the clamping members is effected when the latter areunlocked. For this purpose I provide means controlled by the action ofopening the binder. rIhis modified construction of my invention has theadvantage that the clamping bars, after being unlocked, move apart by aprogressive movement as the binder is opened, instead tionedarrangement. Y Y v Y f A Yj Tofprovide additional security against eX-,fl', 5 traction' of the Vbinder leavesgWhen'the'binderV VY.is Ylockedlmay Yemplo'yforre Vor more com-` --pesitefiling posts constructed ashereinafter Y fing/bar; and Y jispfigmg'.apartsiiagieaiy'wrnthe binderis interlockedasv Voccurs'rfinthe, firstmen V described in lieur ofl orin addition. to the usual filingposts.

Y l i0. V.Two preferred embodiments of theinvention pare'Villustratedjin vthe accompanying vdravvingin Which;-V

L Figure 1 isl ane levationY of the clamping "barsy Y' *15 Fig.2 is la.`plan lof thelower clamping l member.'v

zis .a VVcross sectional end-view on i .an enlargedl scale, takenthrough the centerY Y of the clamping bars lwhen in the closed po- Fig.VV4 is longitudinal" section Vof* the modified construction of. binder.

Fig. 5 isa cross sectional vieivbn theV line 'Y i/foff Fie;- 4-

Fig'. 6 isaV detail vievv showing the loca- Y .tion orfw-theend'of oneof the filing pvostsin i Ythe embodiment shown at Figs. 4 'and'l .Figi 7isa Vdetail view showing the. slot Y in'one ofthe clamping bars'v foraccommo- .73g Vdatingonerer'ndof one'of the compositefiling 'jrvpoisi'ss.,YV f' YSois a View showing oneof the said Y, 'Compo'site'filing posts. f

. i VFigxQis a longitudinal section ofthe lock- .Fig. 10 'isasectiononthe Vlinie X-Y of Fig. f ,Referring to the Figs. 1, 2 andB ofthe dravvings, 1 indicates'the clamping members i Y 470 VWhich-areconstituted by a pair of L-shaped plates ;-.2are the Yfiling pests; 3are therei [cessesin which they areV located; 4 are nuts provided-on theends ofthe filing posts to .pr'event them being withdrawn from the re--cesses 3; 5 are the closure plates for the re- Y -cesses; 6 are thestrengthening posts; one

yextremity. 7 of each' of Which is.scre\ved into theinside face of oneVof the clamping members. The other extremity. 8 of each strengtheningpost is locatedjin a recess 9 in theadjacent face of the other clamping'Vmemb'erg l10rare helical'springs which bear Y' i* oir onefextremityofeachof .the strengthen- Y-ing posts. 11 are 'locking lugs `which en-Y' Y55 Ygage slots 12 intheV adjacentface ofthe Vclamping member; 13'isaY locking Vdevice of thetype comprisinga spring pressed mem- -beradaptedf toyengage the lugs 11 automatically immediately they.` arepressed home Y y ";into theslots Y12; 14 isa key for actuating Y thelocking device. j In ordert'o reducethe f weight of theclamping membersbosses'l f are providedin the clamping bars; so .as to ',reducegtheirthickness VandV furnish the addi- 1.77675V .tional"spa/cegnecessary'for'the movement of ing bar 17.

thejclamping Vbars relative Vto Vthe filing posts.

ln the modified construction of loose leaf binder shownat Figs. 4 to 10the binder comprises a pair of clamping bars 16, 16 70 adapted as beforeto be retained in Contact VWith one another by means of a sliding lock-42 are locking lugs which, in the locking position, engage slots 43. The

llockingbar 17 has a helical spring' 44 which 75 `bears on `one of itsextremities.

45 is a central opening in the bar 17 into which a key 46V is adapted tobe inserted and engage the pin 47, so that by rotating the key, the bar17 is moved in the direction of the arrow in 80 Fig. 9, thus disengagingthe locking lugs 42 from the slots 43 and permitting the binder to beopened. In this construction of binder, however, the use of eitherspring pressed filing posts or strengthening bars is disg5 Vpensed With.The filing posts 18 of which tvvoare shown are capable as before oflimited movement relatively to the clamping bars 16, `16 When the binderis open, while the strengthening bars 19 ofY which tivo are 90 shoivnare carried lon supports 20, their inner ends 19L projecting beyond thesaid supports, so that the bars 19 can also slide to Va limited extentwithin the supports 20 when the binder is open. In order to produce thedesired movement of the clamping bars 16, 16 relatively to the filingposts 1S and the strengthening posts 19, thek ends o f each -of the saidbars19 carry pins 20, adapted to slide in slots 21 in the bifurcated end23 of the cranked lever 22. Each lever 22 has a pivot pin 28, carried onsupports 29 forming part of one of the clamping bars 16, and comprisesan upper arm 24 rigidly connected by means of a screw 25 to the member26 105 forming part of. the support for the side 27 of the binder, and alower bifnrcated end which embraces the strengthening post 19, each armof which end 23 is slotted as aforesaid so.A as to engage the pin 20L onthe strengthening post 19. The clamping bars 16, 16 are provided vwithslots 16 and it will .be understood that in view of this arrange- Vmentand When the clamping bars are unlocked the cranked levers 22 will swingabout their fulcrums or pivotal centers 2S when the sides 27 of thebinder are opened, and

Y' desired at comparatively rare intervals,

means are provided so that it can vonly take place when desired. To thisend each of the 13C l locked.

members 26 may be provided With a pair of clutch devices which requireto be actuated by an endWise movement of the binder sides before thecranked levers can effect any relative movement of the parts.Y Each ofthe frames 30, one of which only is shown at Fig. t, which carry thebinder sides 27 (shown in dotted linesin Fig. 4L) are formed withsleeves 31, 31A, which are mounted on 3 reduced parts 32 of the members26. The

sleeve 3l has a protuberance 31B adapted when the frame 30 is moved inthe direction of the arrow to engage a recess 33 on the outer end 35 ofthe member 26. The sleeve 31A, is also formed with a protuberance 31Clocated within a recess 31DY in the member 26, a spring 3lE beingprovided between the end of the protuberance 31C and the inside of therecess 31D, so as normally to hold the protuberance 31B out ofYengagement with the recess 33. To permit the parts to be assembled theends 35 of the members 26 may be detachable and formed with screwthreads 36.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 8, 37 is the composite post which inthe embodiment shown is built up of five stock sections, namely, acentral part 38 and four end parts of the form shown at 39fand 40.Y rlheouter ends of the parts 39 and 40 fit into recesses .ll (Fig. 7 in theclamping bars and when the clamping bars are open, any one of theseparts can by an endwise movement be slid out of engagement with theadjacent part so as to permit one or more of the loose leaves which arethreaded' on the said post to be extracted from or inserted in thebinder. though a clamping post composed of three parts only has beenshown, any number of similar parts can be employed as it Will be obviousthat on account of the manner in which the sections shown areconstructed they can be coupled together end to end to form a post ofany desired length.

rlhe loose leaves are attached to the filing posts by unlocking theclamping bars, inserting the leaves on the filing posts, and on thecenter post where such is provided. When the predetermined number ofsheets for which the binder is constructed are located in position onthe posts, the clamping bars are pressed together and the binder What Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l.A loose leaf binder comprising a pair of clamping bars, means fornormally retaining said clamping bars in Contact with one another, aplurality of filing posts carried by said clamping bars, and means fordisplacing said lclamping bars relatively to said filing posts to alimited extent.

2. A loose leaf binder comprising a pair of clamping bars, means fornormally retaining said clamping bars in contact with one another, aplurality of filing posts carried by said clamping bars, strengtheningmeans carried by said clamping bars, and means for displacing saidclamping bars to a limited extent relatively to said filing posts andsaid strengthening means.

3. A loose leaf binder comprising clamping bars, means for normallyholding said clamping bars in contact, a plurality of iling posts, aplurality of strengthening posts, and means for displacing saidclampin-g bars to a limited vextent .relatively to said filing posts andsaid strengthening posts.

t. A loose leaf binder ing bars, means for normally retaining saidclamping bars in contact, filing posts composed of joarts capable ofendwise movement relatively to one another and to said clamping bars,and means for displacing said clamping bars to a limited extentrelatively torrsaid filing posts.

5. A filing post for a loose-leaf binder consisting of a plurality ofstock sections assembled end te end and slidable with relation to eachother so that each section may be displaced relatively to the remainingsections. i f

6. A loose leaf binder comprising a pair of clamping bars, means fornormally ree taining said clamping bars in contact, solid iling postscarried by said clamping bars, strengtheningposts carried by saidclamping bars, a built up filing post composed of parts capable ofendvvise movement relatively to one another, and means for displacingsaid clamping bars to a limited ex; tent-relatively to said solid filingposts, said strengthening posts, and said built up filing post. Y

7. A loose leaf binder comprising a pair of clampingbars constitutingthe back of the binder case, locking means carried by said clamping barsfor normally maintaining them in contact with one another, membersconstituting the sides of said binder case hingedly connected to saidclamping bars, means for releasing said locking means, and means fordisplacing the said clamping members to a limited extent in oppositedirections upon the said hinged members being opened outwardly.

8. AA loose leaf binder having a back divided longitudinally into twoseparable parts, binder sides attached to each of said separable parts,means for normally maintaining said separable parts in contact, andmeans controlled by the movement of the binder sides for displacing saidseparable parts to a limited extent relatively to one another when thebinder is opened.

9. A loose leaf binder having a back divided longitudinally into twoseparable parts, binder sides attached to each of said separable parts,filing posts and strengthening posts carried by said separable parts,

1 locking Vmeans for normally maintaining saidseparable parts in contactWith one an- Y Y videdY Vlongitudinally into twol separable parts,bindersides hingedlyfconnected to eachof said 'separable parts, locking meansforV normally Vmaintaining said separable parts in contact, .meansV fornormally .per-y V'mitting said binder sides to be opened Withoutdisplacing said separable parts, means for releasing .said separableparts, and means actuated by kan endiviselmovement of the said bindersides for displacing said separable parts to a limited extent relativelyto one another When the'rbinder sidesare again opened.

l1.V A loose'lea binder havingaback dividedlongitudinally into tWoseparable Y arts Vlookin means for normali maintaining'tsaid separableV.parts in contact, filing Yposts-carried by said separable parts, aVstrengthening4 post, bars extendingdongi tudinally of said separableparts, cranked V- levers, each having a slottedarm, pivotallyconnectedto each of said separable parts,V Vone arm of each leverextending through an: elongated slotin the said separable parts andVbein@ connected to each of said bars,

Q pinscarried at the-extremities of 'the said `and gradually forcingsaid separable parts apart as the binder is opened.

12. A loose leaf binder having a back divided longitudinally into twoseparable parts, locking means for normally maintaining' said separableparts iii contact with one another, iling posts and strengthening postscarried by said separable parts, bars extending longitudinally of saidseparabh` parts, cranked levers each having a slotted arm pivotallyconnected to each of said separable parts, one arm of each leverextending through an elongated slot in thc said separable parts andbeing connected to each ot said bars, pins carried at the extremities ofthe said strengthening posts engaging'ivithin the slots in said leverarms, binder sides pivotally connected to each oi said bars, means forreleasing said separable parts, and means actuated by an endwiscmovement of the said binder sides atter the release of the said lockingmeans and by the action of opening the binder for rocking said crankedlevers and gradually 'forcing said separable parts apart.

ISAAC WOLF.

Copies of ythis patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Coinmissioner of Patents, Y f Y' v l Y Washington, D. G.

